Is Alzheimer’s Preventable? Take the test.
Dementia risk is hot news at the moment. This week shared an interesting new study which suggested that nightmares in middle age are linked to dementia risk. More about that later.
Statistics from Alzheimer’s Research UK indicate that 1 in 3 people born in the UK this year will develop dementia. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia and kills more people than heart disease and the most common cancers.
Food for the Brain Foundation have launched a new manifesto, the AIP Manifesto. We already know that the drugs don’t work, so it is time to embrace other interventions which have showed promise.
They assert that we already know how to eliminate the vast majority of people’s unnecessary suffering through optimum nutrition, at a fraction of the cost and their research is grounded in science. Brain size has already shrunk from 1.49 to 1.35kg in the last 10,000 years. IQ is falling by about 7% a generation.
The Foundation has already tested 375,000 people on their free Cognitive Function Test, which now calculates a person’s Dementia Risk Index and how to reduce it by targeting eight well-established areas of risk. Many are well known to you – eating a low carb & GL diet; more antioxidant-rich plant foods; getting enough homocysteine-lowering B vitamins; optimising brain fats from omega-3; supporting a healthy gut; promoting good sleep and less stress; and having an active mind and body.
In research, targeting just one of these – lowering homocysteine with B vitamins – produced up to 73% less brain shrinkage, no further memory loss, and 30% of these people with pre-dementia ending the year with a clinical dementia rating of zero. No drug has shown any clinical dementia benefit and a maximum of 2% less brain shrinkage. Interestingly, this research from Professor David Smith’s group at Oxford University found no benefit from B vitamins if omega-3 was lacking. The best effect was seen in those with sufficient omega-3 given homocysteine lowering B vitamins – B6, B12 and folic acid. So these prevention steps are synergistic. Food for the Brain hopes to find out what happens if you target them all.
Stopping Alzheimer’s: the key elements:
Eat a low Glycemic Load (GL) diet
Increase brain fats – omega 3, phospholipids and vitamin D
Keep homocysteine low with B vitamins
Eat and drink anti-ageing anti-oxidants and polyphenols
A healthy gut is a healthy brain
Exercise and keep physically active
Keep socially and intellectually active
Sleep well, stay calm and live purposefully.
Everyone gets rated on a traffic light system, from red to green. In October they are launching a personalised, interactive brain upgrade app called COG-NITION which leads people, step by step, towards dementia-proofing their diet and lifestyle. Dementia is now the number one cause of death, the most expensive and the most feared disease. Their top international team of scientific advisors estimate that this simple strategy can cut the number of people developing Alzheimer’s by a third with a healthcare cost saving in the UK alone of over £10 billion per annum, which is more than the entire cost of the James Webb satellite. But the real saving is the tragedy of watching our elders lose their minds unnecessarily. Only 1% of Alzheimer’s is in the genes. This is a disease of diet and lifestyle. It is not the normal consequence of ageing.
How? Firstly, do the Cognitive Function Test at www.foodforthebrain.org yourself so you know where you stand and understand how it works. Secondly, send your version of this email to everyone you know over 40 to do the same. The charity needs all the help it can get so would appreciate anyone signing up as a ‘Friend’, which gives access to the COG-NITION app once launched. To find out other ways you can help, and more about this vital and positive project download the Alzheimer’s is Preventable Manifesto). On November 1st they’ll be a Masterclass of leading world experts explaining why Alzheimer’s really is preventable. https://foodforthebrain.org/aipmasterclass.]
Back to nightmares. Most people don’t know that frequent nightmares are a classical sign of toxic mould in the environment. Dr. Dale Bredesen wrote about it in his book “The End of Alzheimer’s”. Testing is available for mould, homocysteine, HbA1c (blood glucose), omegas and vitamin D from your functional medicine provider or registered nutritionist.
References
https://foodforthebrain.org/aiprefs/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712873/